A "Rainbow" New Orleans-style snowball at Sno-Biggie in Los Alamitos comes in a colorful variety of flavored syrups. EUGENE GARCIA, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Joe's Italian Ice sells Italian ice treats in Garden Grove: Shown: The Joe Latti, an Italian ice layered with soft serve ice cream shipped from Pennsylvania. For many years, Joe's was one of the only places in O.C. to get Italian ice. Now, O.C. is experiencing an explosion of flavored ice treats. NANCY LUNA, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

Customers line up outside at Joe's Italian Ice in Garden Grove. Outdoor seating is provided on stools. For many years, Joe's was one of the only places in O.C. to get Italian ice. Now, O.C. is experiencing an explosion of flavored ice treats. Joe's is adding a new shop on Harbor Blvd. in Anaheim. EUGENE GARCIA, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Snow Station in Tustin offers snow ice with a twist: they shave flavored ice blocks and pile the shavings on a plate. Shown: Raspberry shaving topped with gummy bears and raspberries. NANCY LUNA, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

A "Mango and Strawberry" italian ice is topped with vanilla soft serve at Joe's Italian Ice in Garden Grove. For many years, Joe's was one of the only places in O.C. to get Italian ice. Now, O.C. experiencing an explosion of flavored ice treats. Joe's is expanding to Anaheim and Arizona. EUGENE GARCIA, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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A light vanilla strawberry swirl, left, and vanilla sundae are available at Rita's Italian Ice in Mission Viejo. EUGENE GARCIA, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Joe's Italian Ice is opening a second store down the street from its Harbor Boulevard location in Garden Grove. The larger shop in Anaheim will open by the end of October. NANCY LUNA, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

A guide to icy treats

Shave Ice: Fluffy "snow-like" ice shavings that absorb syrups better than snow cones. Though it is known regionally as a Hawaiian dessert staple, shave (not shaved) ice was introduced to the islands by Japanese immigrants. Besides syrups, traditional toppings include azuki beans, ice cream and evaporated milk. Some shops like Snow Station and The Snowflake Factory create snow from frozen flavored ice blocks and serve it piled on a plate, instead of a cup.

Snowball: Super fluffy ice shavings popularized in New Orleans. Served in a cup with the top molded into a snowball. You can order snowballs "stuffed" with ice cream or topped with evaporated milk and syrups.

Italian ice: Frozen flavored water, not ice shavings. Like ice cream, water and fruit purées are blended in a freezing machine to create flavored "water ice" – a popular dessert in the East Coast, especially Philadelphia.

O.C follows national trend

Nationally, icy treats are an emerging trend, as 30 percent of consumers say they expect to give shave ice a try more often over the next two years, according to a recent survey by Chicago food consulting firm Technomic.

Darren Tristano, executive vice president at Technomic, said consumers bored with frozen yogurt are shifting their dollars to alternative treats like Italian ice and shave ice because they are low in fat and healthier than other desserts.

"Is it (shave ice) going to be a trend? I don't know, but I do know people love this," said JoAnn Buday of Sno-Biggie in Los Alamitos.

In 2009, Sno 2 Go, previously called Sno on the Go, was one of the first shops in Orange County to sell snowballs – a New Orleans-style frozen treat made from powdery flecks of shaved ice. Like a snow cone, the snowball is topped with various syrups, but its powdery texture allows for better absorption. You can also chose to “stuff it” with ice cream or drench it in condensed milk.

“Ice is kind of like a blank canvas,” Wright said. “You can do so much with it. It appeals to so many different people.”

More than a dozen other icy treat shops have stormed the local marketplace in the past few years including Oahu Shave Ice & Ice Cream, Snow Station, Sno-Biggie, Guppy Green House and Rita's Italian Ice.

The latter is a Pennsylvania institution making a big push out West with 50 stores and food trucks planned in Orange County. The first Rita's opened this summer at the Kaleidoscope shopping center in Mission Viejo. By the end of this month, two more are opening in Huntington Beach and Dana Point. Stores rotate 12 to16 flavors daily from 65 offerings such as peanut butter and jelly, mango, juicy pear and cookie dough. The chain also sells custard sundaes, milkshakes and Blendinis – a version of a Dairy Queen Blizzard.

“It's amazing how so many people walk in our door, and say, ‘You're here!'” said Regi Scales, owner of the Rita's in Mission Viejo and Dana Point.

After Dana Point, Rita's is targeting Tustin, Irvine and San Clemente for its next round of stores.

“I would put my product up against Rita's anytime,” he said. “The more people that like Italian ice, the better.”

The formal-apparel industry executive opened his Italian ice shack on Harbor Boulevard in 2002. Joe's offers 19 flavors that are made in-house with recipes developed by Abeyta. Customers can order one flavor, a combination of flavors or an “ice” layered with soft serve ice cream shipped from Pennsylvania. The latter is called a Joe Latti. Rita's serves something similar using custard.

Compared to other frozen ice treats, water ice is unique when it comes to texture and preparation.

Snowballs and shave ice are made by drizzling flavored syrups over fluffy snow-like ice shavings. With Italian ice, water and fresh fruit purées are blended and frozen at 22 degrees. It looks more like a sorbet. At Joe's, flavor possibilities are endless – from seasonal honeydew to bada bing cherry to peanut butter cup.

“I come here so much. It is the bomb. There's nothing else like this,” said Joe's regular Breeann Mahoney, as she ordered her favorite flavor, Joe of the Jungle (chocolate banana).

Loyal customers like Mahoney and East Coast transplants have made Joe's a local institution now ready for expansion.

At the end of the month, Abeyta plans to open a second Joe's in Anaheim, about a half-mile from his flagship stand. He's also opening a shop in Tempe, Ariz., and scouting locations for growth in other parts of Arizona and Nevada. The larger Anaheim Joe's, closer to Disneyland, is long overdue, he said.

“We outgrew this location awhile ago,” Abeyta said of the Garden Grove shack.

During peak summer hours, Joe's sells from a handful of walk-up windows. When it is really busy, he'll fling open the back door and start taking orders to keep snaking lines moving. Ironically, rainy days are his busiest because he offers two-for-one specials when it pours.

“Some people come 50 miles to spend $5 on a cup,” he said.

The cult-like following for Joe's wasn't instant.

“It was anything but an overnight success. No one knew what Italian ice was,” said Abeyta, 55.

The first two years were rough. Eventually word of mouth from locals helped boost sales, and by the third year he became profitable.

The new Anaheim store, at 2201 S. Harbor Blvd., will have expanded seating and parking and is six times larger than the Garden Grove location, which is slated to be torn down in two or three years when the city develops the land for tourism and convention use, Abeyta said. Until that happens, Abeyta plans to keep both locations operating as there's enough demand for two locations.

“I've had people come from Philadelphia and New York, and say, ‘This is the best (Italian ice) I've ever had,'” Abeyta said. “We're proud of that.”

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